SALEM — Valuable power points were on the line Saturday afternoon when the Salem High School football team hosted Schalick in the South Jersey Times Game of the Week.

The Cougars (5-2 overall) got off to a fast start in the West Jersey League interdivision matchup and ran their way to a 30-18 win.

“It means a lot,” Cougars head coach Seth Brown said of the win. “Looking at the numbers, they assured themselves a spot in the playoffs and possibly a spot hosting a playoff game. We missed the playoffs last year, so they have a lot to play for. And they play hard.”

Schalick's Tyrell Hart eludes Salem defenders during Schalick at Salem High School football game on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013. (Jesse Bair)

With a comfortable lead late in the third quarter, the Cougars looked to keep the ball on the ground and the clock moving. On a first-and-10 from their own 39, Tyrell Hart took the handoff up the middle and was stuffed at the line.

The ball squirted loose at the end of the play, and then things got interesting. There was some pushing and shoving which led to a brawl breaking out between the teams at midfield. When all was said and done, two Cougars and four Rams were done for the day — both Cougars were ejected by the refs while the Rams had two players sent off by the refs and two sent to the locker room by head coach Dennis Thomas.

“I don’t know what happened,” Thomas said. “Honestly, there were a lot of late hits going on. It wasn’t stopped earlier, so it continued and just progressed and got out of hand.”

“That’s just kids wanting to protect (their teammates),” Brown added of the melee. “They care about each other, they want to protect each other.”

The running game for the Cougars started right away, as on the second play of the game fullback DeAndre Solomon took a handoff up the middle and rumbled 70 yards shedding tackles for the touchdown.

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“It was really big because after that big run we had the momentum, even though on defense we gave up six points on the first possession for Salem,” Solomon said. “After that it was a rout for us. We just came out and wanted it more.”

The Rams went right back down the field, going 73 yards in 10 plays and scoring on a 5-yard run from Dione Alston. But the Cougars had their own answer, scoring six plays later on a 41-yard bomb from John Gallo to Melvin Allen.

“It was extremely important to be able to answer,” Brown said. “We hit a big play, they methodically marched down the field on us. They were physical, that was big for us.”

It looked like the Rams were going to turn the game into a shootout, but couldn’t convert on a fourth-and-5 from the Schalick 10. From that point forward, the Cougars were able to control the game and run for 284 yards.

“We knew it was going to be a tough, hard-nosed, physical football game and it was,” Brown said. “We were just fortunate to make some big plays in crucial situations.”

The Rams (3-4) second unit made it a closer game in the fourth quarter, finding paydirt a pair of times. After everything that happened, the Rams could have packed it in after the player ejections. But they fought to the end.

“We went out here and scored two touchdowns with our second unit, I took a lot of the starters out,” Thomas said of the end of the game. “And you know what, that’s what it’s about, the team. It’s not about individualism ... it’s about playing the game within the confines of the rules.

“I saw a lot of fight, a lot of determination, a lot of grit, things that the coaches and I have been preaching to the guys and the younger guys took hold of it. We did a good job and I’m proud of those guys.”